Emmanuel Sanders signed with Denver, Jerricho Cotchery signed with Carolina, and Pittsburgh will need to re-work its passing game around the end zone. Only 25 players in the league saw at least 10 passes in that part of the field last year, and these were two of them.
Combined, they caught 13 passes and 11 touchdowns.
Not saying either of those guys are Superman. I’ve never been a Sanders fan. Donovan McNabb was asked about Cotchery earlier today and rolled his eyes.
But those were the guys the Steelers used in that part of the field last year, and they helped Ben Roethlisberger throw 28 TDs last year. He’ll need to utilize new pass catchers this year. Candidates include:
Antonio Brown: Caught 110 passes last year but has never been a big part of their goal-line offense.
Heath Miller: Caught a league-high 10 passes inside the 10 in 2012, but hasn’t been much of a factor in his other three most-recent seasons. Turns 32 in October.
Lance Moore: Free agent pickup who was released by New Orleans. They didn’t use him there the last two years.
Darrius Heyward-Bey: No. 7 pick of the 2009 draft who has done precious little in his first five years in the league. Colts tried to make him a starter last year, then gave up on him the last month of the season. I don’t think he’ll even make the team.
Markus Wheaton: Didn’t do much of anything as a rookie, but a third-round pick who could still develop into a breakout-type player. Brown, recall, didn’t play much in his first season.
| RECEIVING INSIDE 10-YARD LINE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Player | Att | Com | Pct | TD |
| Dall. | Dez Bryant | 18 | 11 | 61% | 9 |
| N.O. | Jimmy Graham | 17 | 10 | 59% | 8 |
| Chi. | Brandon Marshall | 16 | 10 | 63% | 7+2 |
| Den. | Wes Welker | 15 | 10 | 67% | 8 |
| Den. | Eric Decker | 14 | 7 | 50% | 5 |
| Ariz. | Larry Fitzgerald | 13 | 7 | 54% | 4 |
| Det. | Joseph Fauria | 13 | 6 | 46% | 5+1 |
| S.F. | Vernon Davis | 12 | 6 | 50% | 5 |
| Cin. | A.J. Green | 12 | 5 | 42% | 3 |
| S.D. | Danny Woodhead | 12 | 10 | 83% | 3 |
| Chi. | Alshon Jeffery | 12 | 4 | 33% | 2+1 |
| Was. | Pierre Garcon | 11 | 5 | 45% | 4 |
| Hou. | Andre Johnson | 11 | 6 | 55% | 3 |
| Balt. | Marlon Brown | 11 | 8 | 73% | 6 |
| Pitt. | Emmanuel Sanders | 11 | 7 | 64% | 5 |
| Det. | Calvin Johnson | 11 | 5 | 45% | 4 |
| N.E. | Julian Edelman | 11 | 8 | 73% | 4+2 |
| Clev. | Jordan Cameron | 11 | 6 | 55% | 5 |
| Jac. | Cecil Shorts III | 11 | 3 | 27% | 2 |
| Clev. | Josh Gordon | 11 | 1 | 9% | 1 |
| Dall. | Jason Witten | 11 | 6 | 55% | 5 |
| G.B. | Jordy Nelson | 11 | 5 | 45% | 2 |
| Den. | Demaryius Thomas | 11 | 6 | 55% | 4 |
| Pitt. | Jerricho Cotchery | 10 | 6 | 60% | 6 |
| S.D. | Keenan Allen | 10 | 4 | 40% | 4 |
—Ian Allan
